The present disclosure relates generally to a rock climbing navigational watch and, more particularly, to a watch that guides climbers ascend or descend a rock face along one or more rock climbing routes that may be used by others as a rock climbing navigational aid. A rock climbing route may include one or more rock face locations. A rock face location may include preexisting bolt locations (sport climbing) and/or trad anchor locations selected by the climber while climbing (traditional climbing). These rock face locations are commonly referred to as, “anchor locations” in the art.
Before embarking on a rock climbing endeavor, a rock climber may search for information, such as the location and difficulty level associated with a rock climb. Although information associated with a rock climb that may be followed by others may be found in materials relating to rock climbing, these materials may not be published frequently enough to include the most recent data associated with a climb, may not inform a user of more precise details associated with a rock climb such as suggested routes for use when navigating a specific rock face, and the materials may provide limited information relating to the shape of the rock and the difficulty rating system. Although rock climbing materials available on the Internet may provide more up-to-date information about a rock climb, online sources do not typically provide customized suggestions relating to the user or the rock face.
Although devices having global positioning systems (GPS) functionality may be used to navigate a user through roads and hiking trails to find a destination, such as a rock face location (e.g., base location or peak location), such devices provide limited features for aiding a user while climbing the rock face along a rock climbing route. Devices that utilize GPS functionality in areas with at least partially obstructed reception of GPS signals, such as areas having many rock surfaces (e.g., gorge, canyon, cliff, etc.) or trees above the user, typically encounter performance and/or accuracy challenges to determine a current position for the device. As a result, the current techniques of determining, storing and providing information associated with a rock climbing route for a rock face are inadequate.